By Seember Nyager In the space of a few months, my classmates and I lost two beautiful women to medical complications during childbirth. This is not uncommon and most Nigerians have a friend, a colleague, a family member who has suffered a similar fate. The statistics devastate. According to the United Nations, 10% of global… Read more

By Seember Nyager It was the early days of Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Law. My colleagues and I had written to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) requesting for their procurement records. We informed them that we would like to have it in 7 days in accordance with the law. Like several public institutions who… Read more

By Seember Nyager Budeshi is a living platform that demonstrates the utility of the Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS), and it is based on the latest version of the OCDS schema at every given point. By working very closely within the Open Contracting Community, and with a commitment to research, Budeshi seeks to continuously respond… Read more

By Seember Nyager In preparation for visits to project sites where primary health care contracts are being executed, our procurement monitors having been adding contracting datasets to our locally built platform, Budeshi. Although we have been mobilizing and supporting procurement monitors to observe and report on the public procurement process for several years, the obstacles… Read more

By Sarah Faguet The right of access to information is tightly linked to other fundamental rights such as access to education, health or food. It is also necessary for realising an open, transparent and accountable governance. Without information, citizens are unable to identify causes of poor public service delivery, monitor the effectiveness of their rights… Read more

By Seember Nyager In the last nine years, considerable work has been done by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in promoting public procurement reforms in Nigeria. Having led the process for the development standard bidding documents and manuals, sustained the publication of a list of high value contracts awarded, invested in the continuous development… Read more

By Seember Nyager Part I: The Bold Step How long does it really take to successfully advocate for a change in public policy and practise? From my observation, it could take a bit of time and requires a level of dedication and fervency of spirit. It took 11 years for Nigeria to enact an FOI… Read more

By seember Nyager Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals enjoins us to ensure healthy lives and promote well being for all at all ages. Beyond these goals, health care accessibility for all has always been a primary function of Government; and in countries such as Nigeria, accessible health care is constitutionally guaranteed. At the… Read more

By Seember Nyager In 2015, Nigeria’s procurement monitors were occupied with verifying the performance of contracts awarded for projects across the country such as the Al Majiri schools and primary health care centres. And while some progress has been made, it is still difficult to link available budget and procurement contract data in order to… Read more

By Seember Nyager Usain Bolt needs no introduction. His reputation as the fastest man in the world is grounded and largely undisputed because we are all witnesses of the races he competes in. Competing for government contracts is a bit more complex. The current rules for awarding government contracts generally suggest that maintaining competitive advantage… Read more